Solo Aetherdark Session 2 - Chaos on Deck

February 24, 2026

Setup

In part 1, our players escaped from captivity when the ship they were imprisoned on, sailing the vast astral sea, was seemingly attacked by a cosmic kraken which threatened to tear the ship apart. There were some hints that there had also been a mutinous event, and it certainly seemed as though the crew were living in terror of the First Mate, named Amelia. While the captive players scrounged for supplies in the chaos, they stumbled upon Amelia herself, covered in blood, wielding a wicked cleaver, and apparently feasting on the flesh of the mutineers. Fighting for their lives, the crew tried to subdue her. The bestial woman slew Pavya, the Calrivian Dwarf, before Amchutchen threw a jar of bottled lightning and electrocuted her to death.

As before, we will notate the events of this session using Lonelog format, use Triple-O to emulate the party, not the GM, and fill in the blanks with various oracles, primarily using Solodark's tools.

The Party

While we still control 14 of the original 15 level 0 captives, our current party of four includes (in initiative order):

1. Ra'Wyn'Lek'Ka'Nir, or Rawyn for short, Solarian Gnoll
2. Leith, Devlienner Orc Serf
3. Amchutchen, Calrivian Hardback
4. Bi'De'Nir'Wyn'Lek, or Bide for shirt, Solarian Kobold

S1

? Does the lightning bottle electrocute anybody nearby? (Likely)
d: d20A=17 -> Yes
=> Bide and Leith, right next to Amelia, are also in the range of the bottle's lightning.
GM: Bide and Leith will make DC12 DEX checks to dive away and avoid the lightning.
d: [C:Bide] d20+2=18 -> Success
d: [C:Leith] d20+4=14 -> Success
=> Bide tumbles away, somersaulting towards his group, lightning only crackling across his knuckles and leaving them burned. Leith jumps back, and the lightning surrounds him and he feels it in his bones, but he perseveres.

Note: the d20A notation is my way of saying "d20 with advantage". d20D would be with disadvantage.

Winded, breathless, the group look around the deck. Leith and Bide shake their hands, as though trying to shake the shocked feeling from their bodies. Amchutchen is struck with horror at what he's done, even though he knows it was necessary, and feels terrible guilt for how close he came to killing two innocent people as well. But all of them turn to the dead body of Pavya. No words come to them... Amchutchen speaks up first, voice quavering.

"We... have to take her body home... at least, we can't leave it in the sea, or her spirit... it will be lost here, without rest..."

GM: Advance Kraken Timer and Encounter Check!
[E:Kraken Timer 4/10]
d: d6=2, No Encounter

The kraken continues to crack and crush the ship, loud wooden snapping sounds reminding these captives that the danger is still there and greater than ever. And more of the slaver pirates remain on the ship.

? What do the group do here?
Obvious: Try to deal with the Kraken somehow...
Option: Find the ship's controls and see if it provides an option for escape
Odd: Try to overturn the one remaining small boat on the deck
d: 2d6=6,6! -> Obvious, doubled!
=> Leith takes control here, famous Orcish temper rising, and he wants to kill that damn beast.

In Triple-O, if you "double down" (rolling two dice instead of one to get a more likely result) and you roll doubles, that outcome is chosen but it is chosen with emphasis. So not only will the group try to deal with the kraken, but Leith is thirsty for blood and they are going to try to kill it.

Leith looks around, and sees another bottle of bottled lightning near Amchutchen. He walks over quietly, bends down and picks the bottle up from near the wrecked outer shell of a building that used to stand here on the deck.

"This... it's a weapon. We can deal with that thing with this. But we need more."

[C:Rawyn]
@ Stares at Pavya a moment before silently following instructions.
? Does Rawyn find the one remaining bottle? Unlikely
d: d20D=10 -> Twist!
-> tbl: 2d100=38,61 -> "Pull Mind"
=> Rawyn runs along the side of the ship towards the fore, until he stops dead in his tracks. His mind comes under attack from the kraken. 

When you roll a 10 for a Solodark oracle question, you get a twist! We roll on the prompts table later in the zine to see what happens.

Rawyn freezes half way to the front of the ship. He feels an unbearable pressure on his mind, like the weight of a thousand decisions all at once with the grief and joy of a thousand deaths and births all at once. His psyche is assaulted, and his nose starts to bleed.

GM: [C:Rawyn] will make a CHA check to resist this, DC 15.
d: DC20+1=18 -> Success
=> Rawyn withstands the mental attack from the kraken, and resumes his halting, stuttering steps towards the front of the ship. He doesn't have any idea what just happened.
@ [C:Rawyn] searches the fore of the ship. He can make an DC12 INT check to search the bombards first, otherwise it will be on a future turn.
d: d20=10 -> Failure
=> Rawyn searches around the bombards and along racks by the cabin on the opposite side of them. He sees nothing resembling one of these bottles.
? What does [C:Leith] do here?
Obvious: Direct others to search with him
Option: Throw the bottle he has at the kraken now
Odd: Break into the cabin to find a weapon
d: d6=5 -> Obvious
=> Leith starts barking out orders, and the group spreads out to find more of the bottles. [GM: They will search for weapons and supplies with advantage]
@ [C:Amchutchen] peers into the window of the cabin
=> He sees a partially butchered body on a table, and a pile of other bodies and bones in the room. He turns away retching. [GM: Amchutchen makes a CHA check to avoid becoming disoriented again.]
d: d20+2=14 -> Success
=> He manages to push down the rising bile and turn his attention elsewhere. He tells the others what he saw, in simple terms.
@ [C:Bide] Searches down into the open cargo bay. This opening used to be covered by a hatch, but it has been destroyed. This is where the pirates from earlier fled down into, and below is the room with the runic engines and the pirates that were hiding amidst the supplies.
? Does Bide see pirates still in this room?
d: d20=15 -> Yes
=> Bide sees pirates below, and ducks his head away from the opening and listens in on them.
? Are the pirates making plans to retake the ship?
d: d20=11 -> Yes
=> Bide hears the pirates regrouping, saying that with Amelia out of the way, they just have to get rid of the Captain and kill the captives. Another suggests re-capturing the captives so they have something to sell to repair the ship. Bide backs away and tells Leith what he heard.
[GM: Kraken Timer and Random Encounter Check]
[E:Kraken Timer 5/10]
d: d6=6 -> No Encounter
[GM: The pirate group below has regrouped. There are now 7 sailors below, led by a goblin. He orders them to head to the fore of the ship where there's a ladder. This will take them across the kraken's maw, which I will resolve on the next GM check.]
@ [C:Rawyn] continues searching. He can make a DC9 INT check to find the bottles in the bombards.
d: d20=9 -> Success
=> Rawyn peers into the bombard, the "long cauldron" like object facing out of the front and side of the ship. He sees a bottle inside and reaches in, pulling out the stoppered lightning bottle.

The kraken continues tearing apart the ship. Its long arms rip the gunwale into its maw, which is also boring a hole deep into the hull. Rawyn, bottle in hand, turns back and sees the beast's appendages flailing against a backdrop of stars. He runs back to the group, this time on the side opposite the kraken.

@ [C:Leith] takes the bottle from Rawyn, now holding two of them.
? Does he think this is enough to attack the kraken and try to drive it away from the ship? What is his plan?
Obvious: Attack the kraken and drive it away by throwing the bottles into the maw.
Option: Attack the kraken's body from the deck, while it's gaping mouth is still embedded below
Odd: Try to figure out the bombards, and shoot the bombards at the kraken.
d: d6=1 -> Odd
=> Leith turns to Rawyn, asks where he found the bottle. When Rawyn tells him it was within one of the bombards, Leith looks to the fore, and tells the group that he wants to try to fire the thing at the beast. He leads the group to the fore.
@ [C:Amchutchen] tries to turn the closest bombard around to face the kraken. DC 18 STR check
d: d20+2=16 -> Fail
=> Amchutchen tries to rotate the bombard, which is mounted on a wooden platform on wheels, but even still, the device is too heavy to rotate alone.
@ [C: Bide] moves to help Amchutchen, and the two of them put their back into it. DC 18 STR check with advantage.
d: d20A-1=15 -> Fail
=> The two can only rotate the bombard about half way. It will take three people to certainly move the device.
[GM Turn]
[E: Kraken Timer 6/10]
d: d6=1 -> Random Encounter!
[GM: The pirates from below move into the room where the captives were held previously.]
[Random Encounter]
d: d6=3 -> The ship tilts suddenly. Everyone on board makes a DC 15 DEX check or falls prone.
d: [C:Rawyn] d20+1=19 -> Pass
d: [C:Leith] d20+4=24! -> Pass
d: [C:Amchutchen] d20+2=4 -> Fail
d: [C:Bide] d20+2=9 -> Fail
=> Bide and Amchutchen fall while trying to move the bombard. The ship shakes violently, and they are unable to get to their feet until the end of their next turn.
[GM: The pirates below will make a group check here.]
d: d20+1=10 -> Fail
=> All the pirates are thrown about in the former captive's room. They won't make progress on their turn.
? What is the captain doing here? He is injured, and has been hiding in the cabin waiting to ambush intruders. Is he staying here?
Obvious: He remains waiting in ambush, his injury preventing him from leaving.
Option: He prepares to leap out of the cabin to attack whoever is nearest and retake control of his vessel
Odd: He prepares to sneak out of the cabin and try to get into the boat that is upside down on the deck, to leave the ship.
d: d6=5 -> Obvious
=> The captain, nursing an injury, waits with his hand on his wicked blade to gut the first thing that enters the room.

The ship shakes violently as the captives try to turn the heavy bombards to face the cosmic horror that's trying to devour them. Stars flicker, and flames burn on the back of the ship. Within the cabin, Captain Ca'Resh holds his hand to the bandage hastily wounda around his right shoulder. It is soaked through with blood. His other hand is on his saber, which trembles with rage at both the mutiny and the assault on HIS ship by this upjumped lobster!

Whatever poor fool stumbles into the cabin first is going to be gutted... He relishes the thought, licking his lips in anticipation.

Continues in Session 3